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Concern is growing in Scotland over reports of asbestos contamination in the water delivery system. Admitting that deteriorating asbestos-cement pipes are still being used for supplying public water, Scottish Water claims that it will take decades to replace the toxic pipes. The long delay to eradicate the carcinogenic hazard is being criticized by politicians, public health and legal specialists. The areas worst affected are Perth and Kinross, Angus, Dumfries and Galloway, and Shetland. See: Fears over growing number of asbestos fibres in our drinking water.

April 28, commemorated as International Workers’ Memorial Day all over the world, is also recognized in Italy as the World Day of Asbestos Victims. In Casale Monferrato, regarded as the heartland of Italy’s epidemic of asbestos-related diseases, honorary awards were bestowed by the Mayor of Turin on key “protagonists of the civil and judicial battle against asbestos.” Among those honored were: the Public Prosecutor of the first Eternit trial Raffaele Guariniello and campaigners Bruno Pesce and Nicola Pondrano, activists from Casale Monferrato’s victims’ association: AfeVA. See: Giornata Mondiale delle vittime dell’amianto: a Casale la memoria conferma l’impegno per salute e giustizia [World Day of Asbestos Victims: in Casale commemoration confirms commitment to health and justice].

A new museum housed in the original South Shaanxi Asbestos Mine Office Building in Miaoba Community, Da'an Town, Shaanxi Province covers an area of 270 square meters and is divided into 9 units: “introduction, hard work, eventful years, development heyday, honor, culture, production tools, product and mining history, and innovation and struggle.” With the decreasing demand for asbestos at home and abroad during the 21st century, it is believed that this mine, like some others in China, ceased operations. Even so, today China remains the world’s third largest producer of asbestos. See: 陕南石棉矿矿史馆在大安镇建成 [The History Museum of the Asbestos Mine in Southern Shaanxi Opens].

On May 13, 2025 a book will be published detailing the David & Goliath battle to hold former UK asbestos mining corporation Cape PLC to account for the damage done by its toxic operations in South Africa. Research on this case began in 1995 by London-based human rights lawyer Richard Meeran; by the time the final resolution of this case was achieved in 2004, thousands of clients had become part of this multijurisdictional class action. The book reads like a best seller as it unravels the twists and turns of this historic legal battle. It joins the pantheon of classic texts revealing the depths to which asbestos corporations will go to preserve the asbestos income stream. See: In a Rain of Dust. – Death, Deceit, and the Lawyer Who Busted Big Asbestos.

The article cited below from the news portal California, US highlighted progress being made in the use of surgical techniques such as Extended Pleurectomy/Decortication and Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery for extending survival rates of patients with the signature asbestos cancer pleural mesothelioma. “What’s particularly exciting,” wrote the author “about these surgical advancements is how well they integrate with other forms of therapy… [like] chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted radiation…” See: New Surgeries Giving Early Pleural Mesothelioma Patients a Better Shot.

An April 27, 2025 article in Pravda – a Russian broadsheet newspaper which was formerly the official newspaper of the Communist Party – included the virtually unprecedented acknowledgement that exposure to asbestos-cement roofing tiles [slate] could be harmful. In the world’s biggest asbestos-producing nation, such an admission is never made. While the asbestos industry lobby maintains that these products “can be used safely under controlled conditions,” they never go as far as delving into the consequences of uncontrolled conditions. See: Шифер ломается не просто так: вот главная ошибка при монтаже [Slate doesn't just break: here's the main mistake during installation].

An on-site survey on April 10, 2025 of Hotel Kairakuso in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, which was damaged by the January 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, identified the presence of crocidolite (blue) asbestos in fireproofing material on beams and columns. Raising the alarm, Secretary-General Fuyushi Nagakura of the Asbestos Center was categorical: “Measures should immediately be taken to prevent the dispersal of the substance and inform volunteers of the danger.” Commenting on the situation, a representative of the Ishikawa Prefectural Government said: “we have asked the hotel to take steps to prevent dispersal and stop using volunteers. We will consider necessary actions based on the survey.” See: Highly carcinogenic asbestos found exposed to air at Noto quake-hit hotel in central Japan.

On April 23, 2025 a high-level meeting was held at municipal chambers in Sardinia to discuss the serious asbestos legacy on the island, which includes health risks to the population as well as environmental contamination. Taking part in the discussions was Giampaolo Lilliu, President of the Association of Asbestos-exposed People, who highlighted the environmental asbestos disaster at the defunct asbestos factory sites in Oristano and Marrubiu. See: “A Oristano e Marrubiu siti industriali ad alto rischio amianto. La Regione finanzi le bonifiche” [“In Oristano and Marrubiu [are] industrial sites with a high risk of asbestos. The Region should finance reclamation”].

Shocking news of yet another unexpected development from the White House this week with the news that asbestos was on the list of “critical” items excluded from new US tariffs. Although asbestos use was banned in 2024 by the Biden administration, it is still used by chlorine producers in a few factories. A spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council (ACC), which had argued that the ban could hurt the chlorine industry, said the ACC “played no role in lobbying for asbestos to get a tariff exemption and didn’t know why it was included.” See: Politically Connected Firms Benefit From Trump Tariff Exemptions Amid Secrecy, Confusion.

Earlier this month, the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands questioned Scottish Water about its continued use of 5,816 km of asbestos-containing water mains pipes. According to a Freedom of Information reply, it may take until 2072 for these pipes to be replaced. Scottish Water said that most of the £40 million being spent every year on remediation work was for the replacement of deteriorating asbestos pipes which were susceptible to frequent breakages. See: Scottish Water criticised over ‘slow removal of dangerous’ asbestos water pipes in Caithness and other rural areas.

Last week, Health Canada – “the department of the Government of Canada responsible for national health policy” – approved the use of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) with chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma. This decision was taken based on phase 3 trial results which showed improvements in survival, progression-free survival and an elevated response rate with the combination therapy. In September 2024, the US FDA also approved the use of this therapy for the treatment of mesothelioma patients. See: Health Canada Approves Pembrolizumab/Chemotherapy for Unresectable, Advanced or Metastatic Pleural Mesothelioma.

Earlier this month Spain’s Customs Surveillance Service, a unit of the Tax Agency, admitted that asbestos had been found on one of its fleet of Alcaraván patrol boats. All four of the vessels in the fleet were mothballed until further tests were carried out. Commenting on this discovery, a spokesperson from the SIAT trade union said: “It is inconceivable that vessels over 40 years old continue to carry out operational tasks. The last risk assessment review took place in 2016. SIAT has been requesting that the frequency of risk assessment reviews for each vessel be defined." See: La Agencia Tributaria deja en puerto sus patrulleras más antiguas tras encontrar fibras de amianto cancerígeno, material prohibido desde 2002 [Tax Agency leaves oldest patrol boats in port after finding carcinogenic asbestos fibers, a material banned since 2002].

A statement issued on April 17, 2025 by the National Education Union (NEU) – the largest education union in the UK and Europe – at its 2025 annual conference in Harrogate highlighted the deadly consequences of continuing government neglect of school infrastructure: “School building safety is of paramount importance, yet successive governments have paid lip service to it, especially where asbestos is concerned. The number of school staff and former pupils who have died from mesothelioma as a result of being exposed to asbestos at school continues to grow.” See: Health and safety in education – learning from Grenfell.

On April 17, 2025, the Court of Assizes of Appeal of Turin, Italy handed down a mixed verdict; while the new ruling confirmed a lower court’s guilty verdict of Swiss billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, it reduced his punishment from 12 to 9 years and 6 months in jail. The defendant was convicted of having committed multiple manslaughters of workers at his company’s asbestos factory in Casale Monferrato. Schmidheiny had previously also been held responsible for asbestos deaths in several other Italian jurisdictions. See: Processo Eternit bis: pena ridotta all’ex amministratore Schmidheiny per le morti da amianto [Eternit bis trial: former administrator Schmidheiny receives reduced sentence for asbestos-related deaths].

Although some restrictions on asbestos were implemented in 1999 and 2005, the use of asbestos-containing products in Malaysia remains legal, despite a government pledge to consider a national ban. The article cited below is a timely discussion of the deadly hazards posed by workplace and environmental exposures to asbestos and a reminder that scores of other countries have already acted to protect populations by prohibiting asbestos use. A spokeswoman for the Consumers’ Association of Penang, which has supported an asbestos ban for decades, called on the government to take decisive action sooner rather than later. See: Asbestos: The tiny fibres that threaten our lives.

On March 9, 2025, structures in the vicinity of waterblasting operations on the roof of 102 Daniell Street, a domestic property in the Wellington suburb of Newtown, were contaminated by an asbestos slurry coming off the roof. Tests commissioned by local people found two types of asbestos in the debris. According to a council spokesperson there was “minimal risk to the general public,” nevertheless eradication work is being progressed by specialist contractors at buildings downwind of the site. See: Asbestos blown on to Wellington homes by waterblasters.

For decades, the existence of a regional asbestos epidemic has been a fact of life for people living in towns near a former asbestos mine in Bahia, a state in the northeast of Brazil. A pionnering pulmonary screening program has now confirmed what local people already knew: there is, indeed, a high incidence of occupationally and environmentally caused asbestos cancers, asbestosis, pleural plaques and other respiratory diseases in the Bahia towns of Bom Jesus da Serra, Poções, Caetanos and Planalto. Recommendations made by the specialists who implemented the surveillance program included: continuous monitoring of at-risk individuals, better recording of disease levels and data and the creation of a local center of excellence for the treatment of lung diseases. [Read full article]

People continue to die from asbestos-related cancers and diseases more than thirty years after asbestos was banned in Italy. For decades, victims’ associations, trade unions, community groups and public prosecutors have sought to hold negligent parties to account for the damage done. One defendant who has been indicted and convicted in multiple jurisdictions is Swiss billionaire Stephan Schmidheiny, former owner and a director of the Swiss Eternit company and the main shareholder of the defunct cement production company Eternit Italia. On April 17, the Turin Court of Appeal confirmed a lower court’s verdict which held him responsible for scores of asbestos deaths even though it reduced the length of the prison sentence. [Read full article]

It is remarkable to witness the heightened engagement of national authorities with asbestos legacies in key global hotspots. The imposition of new restrictions, progression of medical projects, upscaling of impact assessments and implementation of eradication programs are indicative of an ever-growing awareness of the urgent need for action to prevent future deaths. Work is also on-going in scores of other countries in screening at-risk populations, securing compensation for victims of asbestos-related diseases, documenting the crimes of asbestos defendants, highlighting long-standing injustices of compensation schemes, and exposing hazardous workplaces and practices. Scrupulous monitoring of developments is essential to preserve progress made in the battle for global asbestos justice. [Read full article]

A catalog of recent developments are suggestive of major problems at Russia’s second largest asbestos conglomerate: Uralasbest. On March 10, the company announced that the workforce would be put on a three-day week to save money on labor costs. Reacting to this news, panicked Uralasbest employees, already on minimum wage, told reporters that their income could decrease by a further 30%. Many were “seriously considering quitting.” Just a few days after the Uralasbest bombshell had exploded, the company announced that it was abandoning the three-day week in the face of employee “dissatisfaction.” The press service of Uralasbest declined to comment further. [Read full article]

After an eight-year wait, Brazilian and international asbestos watchers were optimistic that the Supreme Court’s (STF’s) definitive ruling on the illegality of asbestos exports would be handed down by March 14. As has happened so many times before, the delivery of an STF asbestos decision was upended. This time, the impasse was caused by Judge Kassio Nunes Marques, an appointee of the disgraced former President Jair Bolsonaro. Marques said he needed more time to consider the arguments of case ADI 6200. As he has been a STF Judge since November 5, 2020, one wonders why he had not found time to study the case files? There might be 103,000,000 reasons for this. [Read full article]

Two initiatives have come to the fore recently highlighting the human, environmental and ecological tragedy which has befallen Slovenia's picturesque Soča Valley. From 1921, this area was the heartland of the country's asbestos-cement industry with a sucession of companies routinely exposing thousands of workers and residents to carcinogenic asbestos fibers. A great debt is owed to author/researcher Jasmina Jerant and documentary photographer and filmmaker Manca Juvan who cast fresh eyes over an old scandal. Using their unique talents, they succeded in thrusting vital questions onto local, national and international agendas and once again forced us to question the compromises ordinary people are forced to make to provide for their families. [Read full article]

Brazilian asbestos, banned at home, continues to poison millions of people in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe etc. whilst simultaneously enriching Brazilian stakeholders. In 2023, international sales of Brazilian asbestos were worth $103,000,000, making Brazil the world’s 2nd largest exporter. Deadlines published by the Supreme Court (STF) for ending the legal limbo in which exports of this prohibited substance continued were inexplicably postponed in August and October 2024. On the eve of STF proceedings which could end the constitutional impasse, global campaigners issued a press release urging the Court to end this “immoral and unjustifiable double standard.” [Read full article]

There is a special place in hell reserved for the panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit which on November 27, 1991 derailed an incipient US ban on asbestos. The knock-on effect of the verdict was that asbestos use remained legal for another 33 years, creating yet more asbestos victims. It was with a pronounced sense of déjà vu that on Friday, February 21, 2025 I learned that the same court had acceded to demands from the Trump administration to pause implementation of a 2024 national asbestos ban. Under the administration of Republican President George W. Bush the asbestos cancer risk to Americans was ignored in 1991; knowing what we do about Donald Trump, is it likely that the outcome will be different this time around? [Read full article]

A statement issued on February 13th conveyed news of yet another win by Indonesian campaigners against asbestos vested interests. After six months of hearings, motions and deliberations, Chief Judge of the Central Jakarta District Court Marper Pandiangan threw out legal arguments by the asbestos manufacturers association (FICMA) which had sought huge damages from civil society groups following a March 2024 Supreme Court ruling mandating warning labels for asbestos roofing products. FICMA has until the middle of March to file an appeal. [Read full article]

News that the Republic of Moldova banned asbestos late last year must have sent a seismic shock to asbestos producers in Russia and Kazakhstan. Although Moldova had in recent years consumed little or no asbestos – in 2022 Moldova imported a mere $16,400 worth of asbestos, 80% of which came from Russia – the elimination of yet another national market will almost certainly intensify the high level of anxiety being experienced by asbestos stakeholders. Throughout the region, asbestos markets are looking increasingly unstable with mounting challenges of pro-asbestos rhetoric and growing awareness among national governments of the high costs being incurred by society for industry profits. [Read full article]

In the run-up to the glitzy 2025 awards season which sees recognition for stars of stage and screen, the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) is acknowledging impactful work of a different kind. Winners of the Screen Actors Guild, the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe and Critics Choice receive imposing and tasteful statuettes to mark their successes. Not so the “winners” of the IBAS Devil’s Dust Awards 2025 whose ruthless promotion of an acknowledged carcinogen and/or suppression of victims’ rights have earned them a rather revolting accolade: a virtual avatar appropriately nicknamed the Lucifer. With so many potential candidates, it was hard to chose this year’s “winners.” The entities named in this years Dishonors List come from Brazil, France & Indonesia. Want to know more? Read on. [Read full article]

As recently as 2020, Russia was the world’s leading supplier of asbestos, accounting for 65% of global output. A mere three years later this figure had fallen to 48% with Russian producers facing falling demand and increasing competition. In the December 2024 newsletter produced by Uralasbest, Russia’s second biggest asbestos conglomerate, its General Director explained that among the challenges the company faced in 2024 were bureaucratic hurdles and logistical obstructions – i.e. persistent and continuing disruptions to asbestos cargo rail shipments. What he failed to mention, however, was the progress being achieved by global campaigners which has “significantly reduced the possibility of exporting chrysotile asbestos… [and created] the crisis faced by asbestos-producing businesses.” [Read full article]

Against the backdrop of a continuing decrease in global asbestos consumption, work to quantify and address toxic industrial legacies was continued this year by grassroots campaigners, civil society stakeholders, national, regional and international authorities. Amongst high-profile topics debated in multiple jurisdictions were the asbestos contamination of schools, water delivery systems and the built environment; the risks posed by asbestos in personal hygiene products and cosmetics; and the unregulated and unsafe dumping of asbestos waste. Technological developments and the building of infrastructure by asbestos stakeholders made manifest their intention to continue profiting from asbestos sales despite the health hazards. It is clear that despite our many successes, much work remains to be done. [Read full article]

In light of many positive comments he has made over the last 30+ years about the efficacy of asbestos – eg. “asbestos is the greatest fireproofing material ever used” – international campaigners have been discussing what the new Presidency of Donald Trump could mean for the global asbestos dialogue. Two US experts consulted by the author of this article felt that given the small amount of asbestos used in the US now and the pending abolition of most uses, Trump would have little interest in attacking the new asbestos prohibitions being introduced. One can but hope. [Read full article]

Last week, global ban asbestos groups issued a joint press release in defence of Indonesian activists at the Independent Consumer Protection Institute (LPKSM), the Yasa Nata Budi Foundation and the Indonesian Ban Asbestos Network (INABAN) working to protect the population from deadly exposures to asbestos. In a blatant disregard for occupational and public health, the Fiber Cement Manufacturing Association – a powerful and well-resourced trade association representing the interests of the asbestos industry – is suing the campaigners for “massive damages” after a Supreme Court ruling upheld their petition to mandate labelling on asbestos products. [Read full article]

Mobilization on the asbestos hazard has been ongoing in Pacific Islands Countries and Territories for a number of years with work by personnel from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and partnering organizations bringing positive results, such as the 2024 ban on asbestos imports and use in the Republic of Nauru (gazetted on October 10 and 30, respectively). Significant developments in protecting populations from deadly asbestos exposures have also been achieved in Niue, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In the shadow of the UN’s 29th Climate Change Conference, it is clearer than ever that asbestos technology is neither sustainable nor acceptable and must be banned. [Read full article]

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Demonstration in Woluwe Park, Brussels, 2006

Under cloudy skies, members of Belgian and French Asbestos Victims' Associations from Dunkirk and Bourgogne marched side-by-side in the third annual demonstration organized by ABEVA, the Belgian Association of Asbestos Victims. Erik Jonckheere, ABEVA's Co-chairman, condemned the government which still refuses to recognize the plight of the asbestos injured.

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